Hunter Hayes Admits to Being Intimidated by Carrie Underwood

Hunter Hayes just happens to have one of the most coveted jobs a hot, 21-year-old country singer could have: opening for Carrie Underwood on her 2012 Blown Away Tour. Hayes should be feeling so confident that he's strutting his stuff back stage, but he recently dished to MTV that Underwood actually makes him nervous.

With perfectly curled blonde hair, the long-legged, doe-eyed songstress would make any young man blush. But it's not her looks that has Hayes' heartbeat quickening.

"She's a sweetheart. She's awesome. Her show is really impressive and it's kind of cool 'cause I'm a production guy and I'm really into watching shows and she's a consistent vocalist," he told MTV News.

"It's really something I love to watch and it's intimidating 'cause you sort of stand there and you're like, 'How do you that?' It's unbelievable," he added. "It's really cool."

The 'Wanted' hitmaker has already been on the road with Underwood for months, and he will continue to work as her opening act clear through May of next year.

But nobody ever said being the opener is easy. Too often, concertgoers chat through opening performances, leave to get snacks, go to the bathroom or play around on their phones. But as Hayes grows more popular, his audience gets larger and more attentive.

"I'm having a blast," he said. "We've been really well-received for an opening act. It's really intimidating when you go up as an opening act cause you expect to be sort of house music for people finding their seats or whatever," he said, adding that people have been showing up early and singing along to his songs. And that experience helps to calm his nerves.

"We felt really at home," he continued. "It's a really comfortable thing for me, which I'm excited about 'cause we're doing the whole tour with her."